...And in All Things, Love

We had a lighter day in San Antonio. After four days of fairly heavy emotional experiences, we took some time off today. A visit to the Alamo, the Riverwalk, and some interviews all along the way really gave the opportunity to unpack our first few days of travels and catch up on sleep (and our blogs!)

The beauty of San Antonio was the unexpected acceptance of many peoples. We met conservatives, liberals, Caucasians, Hispanics, African Americans, homosexuals, heterosexuals, Texans and tourists, and they all seemed bound by a common creed: "Being an American means having the freedom to do whatever the hell you want...within reason."

We spend some time talking to locals and tourists, and we pressed them to explain what "within reason" is, every one of them responded with "don't go breaking any laws or anything, but do what you like."

I really liked that. It reminded me of the tenants of the restoration movement in the Christian church: "Where God speaks: unity. Where God is silent: liberty. And in all things: love." Replace "God" with "The law" and you have the apparent credo of San Antonio.

It is interesting to consider how much Christianity has influenced the different places we've seen. Be it discussions of "The Church of Capitalism" or overt links between country music and Christian faith, or the abilities (as well as the failings) of the church to aid civil rights efforts and relief work following tragedies. In New Orleans Andi pointed out the back of the St. Louis Cathedral as we walked towards Bourbon street, and I mused that in this case, the church had quite literally turned its back on the debauchery and flagrant escapism of the French Quarter. We've seen the church a lot, but always in the background of our discussions.

It really challenges my ways of seeing America now, having grown up being taught that America was founded on Christian principles by Christian men who wrote the Constitution to allow for "Freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion" And yet, religion hasn't made itself known in the American culture we've seen and experienced. Overt displays of Christian faith have been almost universally linked with the abuse of power and the hunger for money. Covert displays of Christianity have been more varied, but even then it hasn't been to the degree I would have expected.

I've grown up in the church, on the outskirts of the Bible Belt, where the church is the lens through which all others are examined, but so far, it hasn't been seen much at all. I can't help but wonder why that is, and what that says about my preconceived notions of America. Maybe we just haven't found that aspect of American culture yet. Maybe it just isn't as prevalent anymore.

Either way, I liked the vibe I found in San Antonio. Dare I say, I like Texas, so far. Tomorrow is El Paso, so we'll see if I've changed my mind.